Seein' Red
by TheNovelArtist
Summary: Ever since she said his actual name during patrol, thoughts of her wouldn't leave his head. And after the little tease flew off into the night, the only color he could see was red.


Adrien. Was going. To lose it.

Midnight. The very dawn of the day. Perfectly innocent. And Ladybug just had to have screwed him over.

"'My Lady'," she had repeated when he had told her goodnight. "I like the way that sounds. A lot." And then she had looked him straight in the eyes with a flirty glint in her own, flicked his bell, and purred out, "Good night, kitty. I'll see you tomorrow."

Though stunned stiff, he had forced his jaw to work. "But we don't have patrol tomorrow."

That was when she had turned to him, a gleam in her eye. "I know. I'll see you tomorrow… Adrien."

He was left speechless as she tossed her yo-yo off into the distance and flew off into the night, a spot of red in the blue hue of the moon and yellow glow of the city. And that was when he had turned color blind to all but one.

Red.

It. Was. _Everywhere_.

He was able to pick out every red car that passed by that morning. Every red shirt and skirt and shoe. Every red splash on advertisements. Red everywhere.

"Hey bro."

Adrien shot three feet in the air at Nino's usual greeting of a shoulder slap. When he came back down to earth, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "H-hey bro. What's going…on?" he trailed off, noticing the red of Nino's favorite cap and thinking back to his favorite lady.

Nino just looked at him skeptically. "You ok, dude?"

"Yeah," Adrien assured, forcing himself not to glance at the red of Nino's shoes. _Pull yourself together, Agreste!_

"Whatever you say, man," Nino shrugged off, taking his buddy by the shoulder and guiding him into class.

Once there, Adrien forced himself to stare into a book. Studying for the quiz today was his answer when Nino asked what he was doing. That way he wouldn't notice Kim's sweatshirt or shoes. Or Nathaniel's red hair and shirt. Or Alya's red stripes on her shirt or the red her hair faded to. Heck, even the red of Max's suspenders.

Adrien was so screwed.

Every red book. Every red picture. Every red bench or brick or accent.

By the end of the day, Adrien wanted nothing more than to go home and hide in his non-red room, bury his face in his non-red sheets and let it blow over.

Unfortunately no such luck.

Because it was so hard not to stare at Nathalie with her red turtleneck and red glasses and the one red streak in her black hair that reminded him of ladybug's ribbons. And when that dreadful ride was over, Adrien arrived home to see his father waiting for them. Thankfully, the man was completely ignorant to the fact Adrien was struggling to keep his eyes off his father's red pants or the red-striped ascot.

By the time he did manage to get to his room, Adrien was about ninety-nine percent certain he was going to die.

And Plagg, irritating awful kwami that he was, was having a field day with it.

Day two was better. Not by much, though. He still noticed red. He was still able to count the six red cars that he passed on his way to school. He was able to spy every red flower. But he was able to pull himself out of it faster and eye all those items discretely.

Patrol couldn't come fast enough.

Nighttime, and he was able to spot his lady the second she came into his sight. Seven rooftops away.

"Hello, Chaton."

But her bright smile faded the longer she looked at him, and he knew it had something to do with the serious face he wore. "Do you have any idea what you've done to me?"

Her head bowed, slightly nervous, but she never responded.

"Obviously, you know who I am. How, I don't know, but I don't really care. What I care about is that you obviously know me in real life, too. And I subconsciously look for you. Every time I see the color red, _every time_ , I stare. I literally can't help it. I can tell you every red car that I saw today, every red bench in school, every student that wore something red today. All because I can't stop thinking of you."

Ladybug's brow quirked upwards, then the corner of her mouth started rising, and the next thing Chat knew, she was in a giggle fit. "Oh, Chat. And here I was worried you would be mad at me."

He pouted. "I am mad at you."

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "You're just mad because you haven't found me yet. Keep looking, kitty."

And then she leapt off to do patrol, leaving him sputtering in the dust.

Day three. Worst yet.

Because now, he was scouring the world for her. Consciously. Purposefully. Actively. And driving Nino insane in the process.

"Dude, what's your problem?"

Adrien shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Nino scoffed. "Doubt it."

He opened his mouth to retort but never got the chance to. Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng had shown up, and he had caught the flash of red ribbons bobbing in her hair. It looked just like…

He swallowed hard.

Nino wasn't oblivious to his friend's reaction, turning to see just what had avidly caught his attention. And when he realized what Adrien was looking at, that was when Adrien's life truly became too much to handle.

"You know, she is seriously cute."

With his face suddenly becoming red as ladybug's suit, he turned to growl at his friend before sulking off. Nino laughed behind him all the way to class.

Then came lunch.

Adrien had the suspicion that Nino had purposefully dragged Alya away so that he and Marinette were alone. Normally, there would be nothing wrong with it, but today he wanted to be anywhere else because those little ribbons bouncing in her hair were far too reminiscent of Ladybug's for his liking, and he was feeling like a stalker for staring at his friend as much as he did.

"Are you okay, Adrien?"

"Hmm?" he said, turning his attention away from his lunch. It had been a couple weeks since she suddenly ceased stuttering around him. On the one hand, he was glad to be able to have a conversation with her that had more words than 'I mean's, 'um's, and 'uhh's. On the other, he hated it because it made her more adorable than she already was. He didn't need her any more adorable. He had one woman in his life and he was a one-woman cat. He didn't need to be thinking about the seriously cute girl that sat behind him.

"You've seemed out of it the past couple days. Are you okay?"

"Oh," he said, feeling a blush come to his cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She didn't look fully convinced, but still relented. "All right. But…I'm here if you need anything. So are Nino and Alya."

He gave her a smile. "Thanks, Marinette. I appreciate it."

She returned his smile with one of her own, then gave him a wave goodbye before turning and walking off. Giving him full view of the little red ribbons bobbing in her hair.

 _Dang it._

It was all he could think about the rest of the day. Even once he could escape school, those little ribbons that bounced in Marinette's hair haunted his thoughts.

Four days in, Adrien had relegated himself to just keeping his head down. By now, he had memorized every splash of red that crossed his path. He knew which classmates wore red on a regular basis. He knew how to keep his head focused elsewhere even though he was hyper-aware of the color red.

And then there was Marinette to screw with his perfectly planned program.

Red pants. Didn't she usually wear pink? Pink was her favorite color. The more he stared, the more he was certain that yes, she usually wore pink.

"Hi, Adrien."

Knowing that he couldn't well ignore her, he looked up at her and returned the greeting. Though it was hard to keep eye-contact when he was drawn to the red ribbons that were still in her hair.

He was happy when the teacher came in and told everyone to take their seats. Yet, even though Adrien sat in the very front of the classroom with a perfectly clear view of the board, he had a hard time directing his thoughts forwards when everything was focused behind him.

Nino gave him flack about it. All. Day. Long.

Day five, and things were not looking any better besides the fact there was no school tomorrow so there'd be no Marinette to drive him insane. Because today, she was in a red skirt. And red jacket. And red ribbons trailing in her pigtails.

Honestly, was she trying to kill him?

He practically ran home that day after resolving to spend as little time anywhere near her as possible.

Patrol that night was miserable. It might have been the first time he ever admitted such a fact. But it was because Ladybug was having such fun mercilessly teasing him.

"You haven't found me yet, Adrien?" she asked. "I'm rather shocked. You see me in red. I know you do."

He'd never been so irritated with his lady before. "All right," he said, desperate to interrupt her harassment if only for a moment. "I actually do want to know. How'd you find out?"

She bit her lip. "About three weeks ago, we were a little too close when we transformed. I…actually, was kind of kicking myself for not noticing it earlier."

Which meant he might be doing the same.

 _Fantastic_.

"You'll figure it out soon enough." With a wink, she leapt off into the night.

The weekend was a wonderful reprieve. Photoshoots and activities kept him fairly isolated so he didn't have to wonder where his lady was hiding. Didn't mean that he was immune to the color red, though.

Especially during patrols when he found himself staring at Ladybug far more than usual.

Much to his chagrin, she found it hilarious.

"Cheer up, _minou_ ," she purred, flicking his bell a couple times. "You'll figure it out soon enough."

"Hopefully," he bemoaned, his heart still racing wildly from her playing with his bell. "I feel insane enough as it is and the nail in my coffin is going to be figuring out who you are."

She giggled. "Probably. But you know what they say: satisfaction brought the cat back."

And she broke out into a laughing fit when he glared at her. Because no matter how right she likely was, he still was living in misery.

Monday rolled around, the beginning of week two, and Adrien stared at every single girl that walked into school that day.

"Dude," Nino said flatly. "You're freaking me out."

"Leave it alone, Nino."

"No way, bro. Not when you're acting like a stalker."

Adrien sighed and quickly pulled together some excuse. "My friend issued me a challenge in secret. I'm trying to complete it."

"No way I'm buying that."

"Dude," Adrien whined, silently begging Nino to let it go.

Nino stared down Adrien before tossing his hands in the air. "Fine. Today, I'll let it slide, but if you're not back to your normal self tomorrow, I'm going to sic Alya on you to find out what's going on."

Well, crap. Now he _really_ had to find Ladybug by today. There was no way he'd survive Alya.

He continued staring out at his schoolmates as Nino pointedly ignored him. Adrien made note of every girl wearing red but crossed them of his list in one way or another.

"Wow." Nino let out a low whistle.

Adrien flipped his attention to where Nino was staring. And his eyes nearly bulged from his head. Because up came a girl in a bright red dress covered in large, black polka-dots. Adrien forced himself to look up at the girl's face, only to be met with the most beautiful, stunning pair of bluebell eyes he'd ever seen. Matched with the red ribbons in her midnight hair and red, circular purse swinging at her hip, he could see _her_. His Lady.

It took his mind _far_ too long to realize who was walking toward him. His Lady was right; he was kicking himself. So. Painfully. Hard.

"Wow, Alya, you look spectacular."

Adrien was ripped from his stupor in order to look at the girl that seemingly appeared out of thin air next to his red stunner. Nino was right, she looked nice, too, in her purple and black dress that mimicked Lady Wifi's costume.

"Isn't it cute?" Alya asked. "I'm not one for dresses, but when I saw this design in Marinette's sketchbook, I kinda begged her to make it for me. It was super nice of her."

"It was no problem," Marinette shrugged off. "Besides, now you're the Lady Wifi to my Ladybug."

Adrien was pretty zoned out at this point, mostly because he was pretty sure she shot a wink his direction at the word 'ladybug'. So while the girls were playfully arguing, Adrien was trying to kick his fried mind back into gear.

"We'll see you boys later, ok?"

Darn, what did he miss?

The girls walked off, Adrien watching them head off. When his red-dressed lady vanished from view, he pulled a page form Nino's book and let out a low, appreciative whistle.

"Dude," Nino said. "You got it so bad."

Adrien couldn't bring himself to disagree.

For a large portion of the day, he had to restrain himself from snatching her as Chat Noir and running off with her. Thankfully, he was granted a moment between classes to pull her into a quiet corner of the school.

"So how fast did you figure it out, kitty?" Marinette purred, leaning back against the wall.

Adrien stopped his pacing to stare at her. "You are such a horrible tease, my lady."

"Revenge for all the cat puns."

Adrien pouted.

Marinette chuckled. "Oh, come here, _minou_. You know I'm kidding."

"I work hard on those," he whined, playfully laying it on thick.

"I'm sure you do." Marinette grabbed his hand and pulled him in front of her.

He took another moment to appreciate her outfit and just how much like Ladybug she looked at that moment. "Has anyone told you just how beautiful you are, Marinette?"

Suddenly, she was blushing as vibrantly as the color of her dress. "Do you mean that?" she asked. "Or are you just saying that because I'm Ladybug?"

"I said 'Marinette' didn't I?" he countered, taking a step closer to her. "Being my lady only adds to your already stunning beauty."

She smiled, then completely and utterly wrecked him when she took his head in her hands. At this point, he leaned into her touch, surrendering to her mercy. "I'm glad it's you." With that, she broke him in every conceivable way when she pressed a firm, lingering kiss to his cheek. Then after some affectionate pats, she marched off, her dress swinging with each step.

The only reason Adrien made it to class on time, sliding into his seat half a second before the bell rang, was because Plagg waved camembert under his nose.

The teacher pointedly never looked up from her role sheet when she said, "Thank you for being _on time_ , Adrien."

"Sorry, madam."

During roll call, Nino slid a little piece of paper in front of Adrien. When he glanced at his friend, it looked like he was trying, and failing, to withhold a smile. Worried at just what might be on the paper, Adrien opened it.

 _Nice lipstick. But that's not your shade of red. ;)_

Adrien immediately slapped a hand over his cheek, feeling heat flooding his entire face. Nino snorted in laughter. They were so lucky no one heard.

In order to save face, Adrien kept his hand over his cheek, pretending that he was leaning on his elbow in boredom. And that was when another little paper flew onto his desk.

He opened it, and a little white pack fell out.

 _Not a fan of my color, minou? I rather like my mark on you._

Adrien tried to keep himself in check, but he felt like fainting on the spot.

Looking down in his lap, he noticed the little pack that fell out was a little towelette with _Make-up Remover_ printed on the paper.

Discretely as he could, he removed the towelette from the packet and wiped the lipstick from his cheek, noting just how red the color was against the white.

He elbowed Nino, pointing to his cheek with a quirked brow. And when Nino gave him a thumbs-up, Adrien felt himself relax again.

However, his lady's note kept calling his attention. A red beacon in the night. So, when the teacher turned her back again, he scribbled a response on the paper and tossed it back behind him.

And he felt immensely pleased with himself for the squeak she let out in response.

 _Feel free to mark me all you want later._

It wasn't for another fifteen minutes that Marinette was able to toss the paper back.

And this one made his world go full red once again.

 _All right. I think the LadyBlog would_ _love_ _to see Chat Noir wearing his lady's color._

* * *

 _"No, I can't get you out of my head._

 _The way you color up my world_

 _I'm Seein' Red."_

 _-"Seein' Red" by Dustin Lynch_

A/N: I've been wanting to write this since April, when that song came out. Those lyrics are just way too good to pass up. ;D


End file.
